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HAVE IT. JACK. MATT. THANK YOU. THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC HAS HIT VERMONT. REALLY, REALLY HARD IN RECENT YEARS AND NEWER DRUGS LIKE XYLAZINE HAVE HIT THE MARKET, CREATING NEW CHALLENGES FOR SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS. BUT THIS EVENING IN BURLINGTON, THOSE ORGANIZATIONS, ALONG WITH LOCAL LEADERS, ARE HOLDING AN EVENT DAYS BEFORE INTERNATIONAL OVERDOSE AWARENESS DAY. THATS SATURDAY. THEY WANT TO REMEMBER PEOPLE WHO LOST THEIR BATTLES WITH SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS. NBC5S STEPHEN BIDDIX IS LIVE IN CITY HALL PARK IN BURLINGTON. STEPHEN, WHATS GOING ON AT THAT EVENT TONIGHT? YES, JACK. SO THE EVENT JUST KICKED OFF AT 5:00. SO A FEW MINUTES AGO. AND AS YOU CAN SEE BEHIND ME, WE HAVE ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE HERE. WE HAVE TABLES WITH SUPPORT, HELP SET UP, BUT ALSO POSTERS OF VERMONTERS THAT LOST THEIR BATTLE WITH ADDICTION. THIS IS THE THIRD YEAR THIS EVENT IS TAKING PLACE, BUT THEYRE ALSO CELEBRATING SOMETHING NEW. THIS YEAR. THE FACT THAT A SAFER INJECTION SITE IS HEADED TO THE QUEEN CITY. PEOPLE ARE USING DRUGS ALONE, AND THEYRE DYING. ACCORDING TO THE LATEST STATE DATA, 65 PEOPLE HAVE DIED THIS YEAR RELATED TO OPIOID USE. THOSE STATISTICS ARE ONLY THROUGH MAY, BUT THAT NUMBER IS DOWN FROM THE THREE YEAR AVERAGE THROUGH MAY OF 89 DEATHS. LOCAL SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS SAY XYLAZINE HAS CREATED SOME NEW CHALLENGES. XYLAZINE HAS MADE THINGS A LITTLE BIT MORE CHALLENGING FOR US AS FAR AS THERE ARE MORE PEOPLE SUFFERING FROM IT. FOR SURE. AND TURNING POINT SEEN AN UPTICK IN PEOPLE SEEKING HELP, BUT THEY BELIEVE THATS A GOOD THING. THERE HAS BEEN MORE PEOPLE THAT WEVE SERVED SINCE I STARTED THATS I THINK OF THAT AS A GOOD THING BECAUSE THAT MEANS WERE OUT THERE AND WERE REALLY PUTTING OUR OUR NAME AND OUR BRAND OUT THERE TO, TO GIVE PEOPLE HOPE, TO REMEMBER AND HONOR THOSE THAT LOST THEIR BATTLE WITH ADDICTION. LOCAL LEADERS SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS AND FAMILIES OF VICTIMS ARE GATHERING THROUGHOUT THE EVENING AT CITY HALL PARK, ALSO MARKING TWO DAYS UNTIL INTERNATIONAL OVERDOSE AWARENESS DAY. OUR ELDEST SON DIED OF AN OVERDOSE IN 2017, SO OUR SON SEAN PASSED AWAY JUST DOWN THE STREET ON GREEN STREET, NOT HAVING USED DRUGS FOR 40 YEARS. BUT I WAS UNHOUSED AND INJECTING DRUGS EVERY DAY FOR SEVEN YEARS. I KNOW WHAT ITS LIKE, FRED BAKER, HE SAID. IT WAS COMMUNITY SUPPORT THAT HELPED HIM CLIMB OUT OF HIS STRUGGLES, AND ONE OF THE REASONS BURLINGTONS SAFER INJECTION SITE IS BEING CELEBRATED BY THOSE THROUGHOUT THE EVENING. IT WAS NOT A PUNITIVE RESPONSES. IT WAS NOT PUNISHMENT. IT WAS NOT THREAT OF JAIL. IT WAS NOT EVEN THREAT OF DEATH. WHAT IT WAS WAS A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO MET ME WITH UNCONDITIONAL SAFETY AND LOVED ME AND GAVE ME A SAFE PLACE TO BE AND SHOWED ME HOW TO BEGIN TO GET BETTER. THE VERMONT DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH IS IN CHARGE OF CREATING GUIDELINES FOR THAT SAFER INJECTION SITE, AND THEY SAY THOSE FINAL PLANS WILL BE RELEASED ON SEPTEMBER 15TH. AND THATS WHEN EVERYONE WILL HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT ITS GOING TO LOOK LIKE AND HOW ITS GOING TO WORK.